As it is, your cherries won't survive as guppies will nip at them. But if you add moss, and heavily plant it, they will survive, but unlikely to breed as they will be constantly hiding and under stress from the guppies.

But its such a waste not to have shrimps.

well..maybe this is not a good plan after all..haha..cannot dump away the guppies as it is a leverage with my wife for my planted tank..(at least she have something too )

but yeah, it quite a waste as the bottom part is quite empty..but i got 1 guppy fry, so i got that going for me (+ her) which is nice..

here's the tank after adding fish. Was on 5 bps for almost 2 weeks and cannot tahan already so added the fish without waiting for the 2 weeks timeline.
now it's down to 36 bpm. I have cherry barbs, cardinals, purple harlequin. Planning to get SAEs, ottos.

Question to sifus:-

1) Can i safely add shrimps without a risk of them being eaten?
2) What type of shrimps looks nice and eats algae?
3) what ferts should i dose as a minimum? Now i'm not dosing anything except for Excel after each water change.

Thanks sifus!


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Im nowhere near "sifu" level but from my experience, u have to properly control co2 intake as the shrimp is not as co2 friendly compared to fish (mine all 12 died/MIA)i think is just try and error process..try to get as minimum as you can so the shrimp can breathe but optimum enough for the plant to consume those co2..unless it is amano shrimps (they're quite hardy in mine)

About minimizing the risk of being eaten, i do read somewhere that to have fish+shrimp tank, it is better to introduce the shrimps 1st into the tank and then followed with the fish..maybe 1-2weeks gap in between so that the shrimp more familiar with the tank environment and not the other ways around to hide in case they were chased by the fish..but remember, this is just the precaution to minimize the risk you mention before..

Congrats! I'm not yet a sifu, just sharing what I have learnt in the past few months. From the look of it, your tank is smaller than 60cm? 45cm? I think after 2 weeks and there's noticeable overall plants growth, you can reduce it to 1-2 bubbles per second. I don't see the drop checker, it's good to have a CO2 checker, so you can manage the amount of CO2 being injected into the tank.

1.
I have a 60cm tank with cherry barbs, neon tetra, foxy tail, lamp eyes, rasbora galaxy, SAE and ottos, it's mixed with 7 red cherry shrimps initially, now with additional 5-6 little shrimplets. They live happily together, my SAE is about 3cm long, and it never bother any of my RCS. And you have fair a bit of plants and hardscape too, that's a good hiding place for them. The thing you need to worry is the water stability. I bought a few batch of RCS and Yamato during the first month, they all died, but I have to admit that I fiddled with the plants and soil a lot, so the best bet is - buy a pair to test it. RCS is quite a hardy, my water temperature is around 28-30 degree, I turn on the fan once a while, that's around 26 degree. Grow some moss, they love it.

2.
Personally, I like RCS, quite a hardy, attractive red color and they eat algae too. Most efficient one are Yamato and Malayan shrimp, slightly more expensive RM3-4, Yamato is too big for my liking. SAEs and Otto are much more effective for sure. SAE eats algae but they do steal fish food, it can grow to quite a big size too. Otto will just look for algae most of the time and it's quite small in size.

3.
I'm using EI dosing method, dose everything excessively and do a water change in the end of the week to reset the water parameters, and then start dosing excessively again. That's to guarantee the plants have all the micro traces and macro they need, so the last 2 things I need to concern are CO2 and Light. Even though fertz are dosed excessively, it's actually much cheaper than buying off-the-shelves fertz and it's a proven method to grow plants. Some say High dosing = high nitrate will kill fish and shrimp, but I see it otherwise because my fish and shrimps are still very lively. More about this dosing method: http://www.barrreport.com/forum/barr-report/estimative-index

Hey, nice tank btw. Good choice with an ADA 60cm cube garden. Its a pity for such a nice aquascaped tank, and you're not using the aquasky light.

Yes, you can add shrimps without risk of being eaten. But your tank is only 2-3 weeks old. Only the Yamatos are tough enough at this stage - wait at least 5-6 weeks (up to 8 weeks) to add RCS.

All shrimps eat algae. For me, for your tank, Yamato shrimps are a good addition. They are quite big (2 inches). Cherry shrimps are also nice. And later you can add the usual bee shrimp and others.

Moss and shrimps are a perfect combination - like their natural habitat. But I would not add moss to your tank. Yours is an aquascaped tank - moss will only mess it up after a few months. They grow like weeds, invading every part and unless you are prepared to do the weekly pruning, weeding, then don't add moss. Your tank is already heavily planted enough.

A bit off topic, but do google mini fissidens. If you grow them on your drift wood, they are simply perfect in my opinion.

You should be dosing the full range of ferts by now. As someone mentioned, you can use EI or simply go ADA.

superb advice arsty and davido!
mini fissiden is quite pricey though and am unsure on how to stick them to the drift wood.

Unfortunately the cardinals and 1 cherry got ick! they're isolated now and on meds.

I'll add powder fertilizer once i get it from bro kiminha.

i'll post pics later on once my tank looks better. Now there are algae all over the place. Still manageable though except for the black algae growing together with the HC, sigh. Just added 3 SAEs and 2 OTTOs.

Hey mkcmeng, you're welcome!

Generally, there are three ways to stick them to the drift wood:
1. Use glue
2. Use thin string to wrap it
3. DSM method by using Use yoghurt and blender (I'd like to try this myself)

Yoghurt method: George's TMC Signature

Either way, you will need to take your drift wood out of the tank and attach it.

This post has been edited by artsyfarty: Dec 21 2015, 10:01 PM

can u tell a bit more about the powder fert?..is it diy fert?..

Taking the driftwood out of the tank is no longer an option since its already flooded.

Just cut the fissidens into a 2cm x 1 cm strip. Then drain the tank until its about half to give you better access to the drift wood.

Then use fishing line to tie the fissidens on to the driftwood.

That's it.

usman, there is this guy who sells dry ferts, kiminha. can search his post in lowyat.
davido, will do it once i get it. thanks!

I miss those aquascaping days..

by the time i read your reply, i already order from algaefarmer through lelong..hahaha.

Dear Sifus,

Wonder if I use Benibachi soil for plant issit ok ?

Dun wanna let it go to waste since I have a pack of it and dun plan to keep shrimp at the moment.

Tq

you not doing aquascaping anymore? how can???
do it mang....

Dear Expert,

may i know how to get rid of some little green things on the glass?
i feel it will covered the glass green in colour soon

have you try with blades?.i buy blade refills and scrap the glass during WC..

This post has been edited by usmanjailani: Dec 30 2015, 11:08 AM

Hi sifus

Anyone knows where can I get hold of
Dwarf riccia / mini riccia ?

Or anyone can spare me some ?

This post has been edited by icedlink: Dec 30 2015, 01:24 PM

Try toothbrush, works for me

Guys, anyone with any idea where i can find super red cherry barbs?
Those that i went to, Nulifar, LFS in puchong, Mid Valley, IPC, all very dull colored without any red at all!

Anyone see any Odessa barbs for sale lately?